Industry News
Craigieburn Valley Ski Area in New Zealand announced today, September 5, that the ski area will close at the end of this week, on Sunday, September 8. The resort shared the update on its social media channels: “Unfortunately, the past few weeks of warm temps and rain have left our lower mountain looking rather summer-like. Although we have excellent skiing on the upper mountain—the snowline retreat is real. As such, our last day of operations will be Sunday, the 8th of September. Come and get it while you can!”
While New Zealand’s ski areas received some good snow falls in August, especially on the South Island, August was also relatively mild, with eight locations observing near-record high mean temperatures for August.
Craigieburn Valley is one of New Zealand’s many club ski areas and was established in 1954. Club ski areas are still very common in New Zealand. While they are clubs, they are open to the public, but the ski area is not run for profit but rather by skiers/boarders for skiers/boarders. The focus is not on comfort but authenticity, and these club ski areas have a unique old-school vibe. The lifts at most club ski areas are surface lifts and many operate rope tows with a ‘nut cracker.’ The nut refers to the anchor point the skier tethers to the rope. Craigieburn has three nutcracker rope tows, which give access to 400 acres of some of the steepest backcountry skiing in New Zealand. Craigieburn Valley is located 90 minutes from Christchurch on the South Island.
